Upholstery mat



I. F. CLARK UPHOLSTERY MAT J ne 18, 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July. 5 1963 INVENTOR. [van 7? C/ork BY WM 6 ATTORNEY.

June 18, 1968 F. CLARK 3,389,043

UPHOLSTERY MAT Filed July 5, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet z m as INVENTOR. /van 7? (York ATTOKN EY.

United States Patent 3,389,043 UPHOLSTERY MAT Ivan F. Clark, Lyons, Mich., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Micl1., a corporation of Delaware Filed July 5, 1963, Ser. No. 293,041 1 Claim. (Cl. 161-43) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An upholstery mat including a backing unit comprising an outer ply of fabric, an inner ply of substantially nonstretchable material, a layer of fibrous material sandwiched between said fabric and nons-tretchable material and bonded thereto, at least one pad unit supposed upon said backing unit and a cover disposed upon said pad unit bonded to said backing unit thereby enclosing the pad unit.

This invention relates to upholstery mats for seats, backs and the like. The main objects of this invention are:

First, to provide a unitary mat for seats, backs and the like which is very resilient and flexible, is capable of withstanding heavy l-oad strains, and is form retaining when relieved from the load strains.

Second, to provide an upholstery mat having these advantages which is readily adapted for embodiment or use in seats and backs of widely varying shapes.

Third, to provide a structure having these advantages which may be readily assembled with and attached to a supporting structure.

Fourth, to provide a structure having these several advantages which may be economically produced.

Objects relating to details and economies of the invention will appear from the description to follow. The invention is defined and pointed out in the claims. A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective View of a seat and back structure both embodying certain features of my invention, certain parts being conventionalized.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the seat portion of FIG. 1 with parts broken away to show structural details of the mat and its relation to the seat structure.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view on a line corresponding to line 33 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view on a line corresponding to line 44 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view corresponding generally to FIG. 3 illustrating in further detail how the pads of the mat are supportedly connected to the backing unit.

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating the structural details of the embodiment of my invention for back cushions.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary plan view illustrating conventionally the relationship of the stitching in the embodiment shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged fragmentary view on a line corresponding to line 88 of FIG. 6.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated my invention as embodied in a seat structure designated generally by the numeral 1 and a back structure designated generally by the numeral 2.

It should be understood that the seat and back structures of FIGS. 1 and 2 are adaptations of my invention to an automobile but that in automobiles both the seats and the backs vary greatly in size and shape.

The spring seat structure designated by the numeral 3 also is greatly varied and the structure illustrated com- 3,389,043 Patented June 18, 1968 ice prises the base frame 4 and the top frame 5, only one of the connecting springs 6 being illustrated. The cushion supporting springs 7 are conventionally illustrated and are of the so-called zigzag type which is widely used type.

Upholstery mats embodying my invention, as stated, may be readily adapted for spring seats and backs widely varying in size and shape.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrated the base unit comprises an outer ply 8, desirably of woven fabric, an inner ply 9 of substantially nonstretchable thermoplastic material, and a layer of fibrous material 10 disposed between the inner and outer plies and adhesively bonded thereto so that in effect a unitary, substantially nonstretchable but flexible inner member is provided.

A plurality of elongated pad units 11, formed desirably of springably resilient sponge-like thermoplastic material, are disposed in laterally spaced parallel relation on the backing unit and secured thereto by adhesive conventionally illustrated at 12.

A sheet of flexible material 13, desirably thermoplastic, is disposed over these pads in embracing relation to the sides and ends thereof and portions of this sheet covering are adhesively secured to the backing unit as indicated at 14 in FIG. 5 and the edge and end portions of this covering material are adhesively secured to the backing unit not only between the pad units but at the ends thereof as is indicated in FIG. 4. This forms a complete unit and, as stated, it may vary greatly in size and in shape.

The cover 15 may be of varying material but leather is widely used. The cover 15 is arranged over the pads and has infolded portions 16 disposed between the pads and secured thereto by rows of stitching conventionally illustrated at 17. With this arrangement, all of the pad units are secured to the backing material not only by the adhesive but they are further secured by this sheet material.

In the commercial embodiments, the skirts designated generally by the numeral 18 are secured to the edges of the mats in a manner to provide a finish for the edges and to enclose the cushion spring unit. In the embodiment of my invention the projecting edges of the mat units provide effective means for securing the skirt desirably by stitching as indicated conventionally at 19; see FIG. 3.

In the accompanying drawing I illustrate a back in which the major portion designated generally by the numeral 20 is as described. The back of this embodiment of my invention has an upper portion designated generally by the numeral 21, see FIGS. 1 and 6, and the pad unit designated generally by the numeral 22 is formed of first and second sections 23 and 24 which are disposed in staggered relation. In this embodiment the pad unit is formed of one sheet of flexible thermoplastic material and, as stated, is cut to provide these staggered sections which however, are unitary. The flexible material used is arranged with portions thereof between the so called pad units of the first and second sections and secured to the back.

The flexible cover of this embodiment designated generally by the numeral 25 has folded portions 26 at the juncture of the meeting ends of the upper and lower sections and the folds are desirably stitched together as indicated at 27 so that there is no bulging or straining possible between the lower and upper sections. With this arrangement the cover is retained in efifectively supported relation to the padding material. The padding material of the upper and lower portions being connected as described cannot be laterally shifted or displaced even though subjected to severe lateral stresses under pressure.

I have illustrated and described my invention in highly practical embodiments thereof. I have not attempted to illustrate or describe various modifications and adaptations as it is believed that this disclosure will enable those 3 skilled in the art to embody or adapt my invention as may be desired.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An upholstery mat comprising a flexible substantially nonstretchable backing unit, said backing unit comprising an outer ply of Woven fabric and an inner ply of substantially nonstretchable thermoplastic material and a layer of fibrous material disposed between said outer and inner plies and adhesively bonded thereto, a plurality of resilient pad members carried by said backing unit and arranged in spaced relation to each other so as to form channels therebetween, a sheet of flexible material disposed over said pads and in embracing relationship to the sides of said pads, said sheet of material being folded between said resilient pads and extending into said channels, means adhesively bonding the bight of the folded portions to said backing unit, an outer cover disposed on the outer side of said sheet of material and having portions thereof folded and extending into said channels, the bight of said outer cover being in juxta-position to the bight of said folded portion of said sheet of flexible material, and stitching extending generally along said channels for securing said folded portions of said sheet and said outer cover to said backing unit.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,889,997 12/1932 Mudd 16150 X 2,213,296 9/1940 Zinser 161-161 X 2,458,588 1/1949 Gordon et al. 16l50 2,878,153 3/1959 Hacklander 161 X 2,962,406 11/1960 Rosa 161160 1,484,336 2/1924 Lichter 15693 2,282,170 5/1942 Cunnington 161132 XR 2,434,527 l/1948 Untiedt l56-93 3,256,131 6/1966 Koch et a1. 161-1l9 ROBERT F. BURNETT, Primary Examiner.

20 ALEXANDER WYMAN, Examiner.

W. A. POWELL, Assistant Examiner. 

